Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The elegant 2024 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Edmée Le Roy unwinds with delicate lemon flesh, wet stone, yellow apple and a flicker of linden blossom. Medium- to full-bodied and reasonably concentrated, the 2024 is a lighter rendition of this Cuvée compared to the previous two vintages, sporting lovely refinement and acidic drive. This finishes clean and nuanced.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Based on 50% Roussanne, 40% Clairette, and 10% Grenache Blanc from the la Fortiasse lieu-dit, the 2024 Châteauneuf Du Pape Edmée Le Roy Blanc offers beautiful orchard fruits, minty herbs, and a kiss of minerality. Vinified and aged six months in stainless steel tanks, it's medium-bodied, focused, and vibrant on the palate, with a more narrow yet still satisfying style. This graceful white should age beautifully over the coming 10-15 years. Drink 2025-2039.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2024 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc Edmee Le Roy reveals a reductive character with aromas of spices, white fruits and herbs. Moderately weighted and round, it’s sappy and layered, with a long, ethereal and lively finish.
Full-bodied and flavorful, white Rhône blends originate from France’s Rhône Valley. Today these blends are also becoming popular in other regions. Typically some combination of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier form the basis of a white Rhône blend with varying degrees of flexibility depending on the exact appellation. Somm Secret—In the Northern Rhône, blends of Marsanne and Roussanne are common but the south retains more variety. Marsanne, Roussanne as well as Bourboulenc, Clairette, Picpoul and Ugni Blanc are typical.
Famous for its full-bodied, seductive and spicy reds with flavor and aroma characteristics reminiscent of black cherry, baked raspberry, garrigue, olive tapenade, lavender and baking spice, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the leading sub-appellation of the southern Rhône River Valley. Large pebbles resembling river rocks, called "galets" in French, dominate most of the terrain. The stones hold heat and reflect it back up to the low-lying gobelet-trained vines. Though the galets are typical, they are not prominent in every vineyard. Chateau Rayas is the most obvious deviation with very sandy soil.
According to law, eighteen grape varieties are allowed in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and most wines are blends of some mix of these. For reds, Grenache is the star player with Mourvedre and Syrah coming typically second. Others used include Cinsault, Counoise and occasionally Muscardin, Vaccarèse, Picquepoul Noir and Terret Noir.
Only about 6-7% of wine from Châteauneuf-du-Pape is white wine. Blends and single-varietal bottlings are typically based on the soft and floral Grenache Blanc but Clairette, Bourboulenc and Roussanne are grown with some significance.
The wine of Chateauneuf-du-Pape takes its name from the relocation of the papal court to Avignon. The lore says that after moving in 1309, Pope Clément V (after whom Chateau Pape-Clément in Pessac-Léognan is named) ordered that vines were planted. But it was actually his successor, John XXII, who established the vineyards. The name however, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, translated as "the pope's new castle," didn’t really stick until the 19th century.